Lux Aeterna
by Mokuren no Ken
Summary: Allen, Lavi, and Kanda end up shrinking due to a Science Department experiment gone wrong and are carted off to Hogwarts to wait it out. There, they encounter the curiosity of the resident Golden Trio and the unfortunate presence of some enemies. Naturally, nothing works out in their favor. It's only time before everything ends in fire and death.


**EDIT**: I decided that I got too many details wrong and the writing was really bad and I couldn't stand it...so I edited it. Yeah... Sorry if you were expecting an update! I'm really going to try to work on the next chapter of a bunch of my fics... And I realized that 13 is pretty much prepubescent for guys, so they've shrunk from 5'8''/174 cm (Allen) or 5'11"/181 cm (Kanda) to about 5'1"/155 cm or 5'3"/161 cm respectively. Yeah, pre-puberty... I also got some comments about the thestrals. I'm leaving them in just to show how they have seen death (little bit of mystery about the transfers).

A/N: I was reading a DGM doushinji about how Kanda and Lavi are turned into chibis while Allen grows big! Plus on the side were some Harry Potter and DGM crossover, so I was like, why don't I make one that's a combo of the two? There will be pairings, but not crossover pairings. The pairings will stay within the same manga/book. **EDIT**: SO YEAH. DRARRY AND YULLEN.

o0o0o0o0o

"-the hell, Komui!"

Allen's outraged (and oddly higher-pitched?) voice cut through the silence of the Science Department. There was still a cloud of smoke, obstructing their view of exactly what had happened after the...collision...

Komui, Reever, and Johnny suddenly found themselves confronted by three children. Kanda, Lavi, and Allen had all shrunk. They were each almost two feet shorter than they had been previously.

"Tch."

"Goddammit! After I had finally, _finally_ grown past five and a half feet! AUGH, I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!"

"Aww, but Allen-chan, you look so cute! And Yuu is so short~!"

"I'll fucking kill you, you damn rabbit."

Nobody in the Science Department could hold their laughter anymore. The argument among the three children was suddenly interrupted by possibly the loudest peal of laughter anyone in the Order had ever heard.

The three exorcists suddenly realized exactly where they were. Glaring, at each of the scientists in turn, they demanded, "Whose experiment was this?" Synchronized, of course. The members of the Science Department didn't dare laugh. They valued their lives far too much to deal with three shrunken exorcists who all clearly still possessed their Innocences.

Once it was clear that nobody was going to speak up, Reever smiled awkwardly, scratching at the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think it may be mine, actually," His face suddenly morphed into one of panic. "But the reason why you guys are like this was totally your own fault!"  
>Allen, Lavi, and Kanda paused in their sudden attempt to murder Reever, Innocences poised to strike. They stalked up to Reever. Well, tried stalking up to Reever. Needless to say, in all the commotion, they had kind of...forgotten that they had shrunk. Clothing was tangled around limbs and the three collapsed into a chibi-clothing-pile.<p>

It was at that moment that Lenalee conveniently decided to throw open the door and rush in with a thoroughly confused expression. "I heard screaming and laughing! What happened?" She halted in her entrance once she saw the "exorcist pile." Giggling despite herself, she noticed how the pile was rather compromising. Especially with the fact that they were all pretty much half-naked.

Kanda shot her the deadliest glare that he could manage (Which wasn't very, actually. The baby face ruined the effect). "I don't give a damn if you laugh or not, but get us some fucking clothes that will fit us." Allen and Lavi nodded their heads energetically in agreement.

Lenalee let out a little burst of laughter before replying, "Alright, but you guys are so adorable!" The three fixated their glares onto her, which just made her laugh more, the scientists joining in as well.

Allen rolled his eyes and grabbed onto the hands of his mini companions. They had only walked a few paces when Allen's face heated up and he decided to forego the hand holding, instead opting for holding his pants up as he unceremoniously stalked out of the room.  
>Lavi snickered behind a dangling sleeve. "I guess we could always borrow some of panda-jii's clothes." Kanda rolled his eyes, heading for the door.<p>

Allen huffed as he followed the swordsman out of the chaotic room. Lavi followed behind them, skipping. Before they left, however, Allen stared at Reever, eyes narrowed. "Try to find a cure for this or else we can't guarantee your safety." Reever gulped, nodding his head frantically.

The three mini exorcists were out of the room, tripping over their feet on the way to find clothes that would fit them.

"So... What are we going to do now?" Reever muttered in despair.

Komui grinned maniacally. "It's your fault this time, Reever!"

Reever replied with a smirk. "Alright then, I guess next time I'll just have to set up someone on a date with Lenalee. Who knows, maybe they'll fall in loooovvve~" Everybody winced but grinned nonetheless. The reaction from Komui was priceless, no matter how many times it happened.  
>Per usual, Komui freaked out, grabbing a whole arsenal of firing arms and went on a tangent about keeping his little baby sister away from the awful preying wolves that dared approach her before collapsing in a couch and bawling his eyes out, begging Reever to never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever do that again.<p>

The researcher grinned. Worked every time. "Fine then. I won't set Lenalee up on a date," Komui grasped at Reever in relief, crying out in joy. Reever groaned and rolled his eyes, pushing his superior away. "If. You help us find a way to reverse Allen, Kanda, and Lavi's...condition. Also, we don't know how long it will take, you we're going to need you to find somewhere to relocate them to."

Komui's eyes glinted in determination. The three boys would be as far away from his darling little Lenalee as possible. "I'm on it!" he shouted as he zoomed out of the lab.

The scientists exchanged exasperated glances. That seemed a bit too easy. Komui was far too simple to manipulate.

o0o0o0o

Allen stared at Komui in disbelief. "You're sending us where again?"

Komui donned a professional smile. "The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The headmaster there has been contacted and he informed me that you three would be perfectly welcome to join for as long as it takes to find a cure for your..." Komui stifled a snort of laughter. "condition..." he finished weakly.

Kanda frowned. "If it's a school of magic, how the hell are we supposed to attend?"

"Simple. You can sit in for the informational classes and only observe the more practical ones." Komui shrugged, as though the answer were perfectly obvious."

Lavi raised his hand with a hesitant grimace. "Is there any way you could get Lenalee to let go of us for a moment?"

With a pout, Komui managed, "Lena-chan, please let go of them. Allen-kun is starting to turn blue and I think I can see the veins in his eyes."  
>Clearly reluctant to release her prize, the Chinese girl removed her death grip from Allen. "But they're so cute! Don't they just make you want to squeeze them? Not to mention, they're so small and cute!" Allen's eyebrow twitched.<p>

"As much as I agree with you, we have to get a move on. Apparently their school year starts in a month, so we need to provide you three with supplies and everything that you'll need. They have dorms there, and I've arranged for the three of you to be placed in the same House, despite your obviously contrasting personalities for ease of communication, as well as the same dorm room. You three will be starting in the third year. You'll fit in perfectly fine, so don't worry about that. Dumbledore, the headmaster, will be alerting the teachers that you three have a special condition that doesn't allow for your magic to be concentrated through a wand, and that you three will have your own special conductors. Innocence should be activated as scarcely as possible, but when you do, simply pass it off as magic, alright? The Hogwarts Express will be your form of transport to Hogwarts, so try not to miss it." Komui glanced around the room expectantly. "Is that clear?"

The three shrunken exorcists voiced a quick agreement, eager to get away from the office as quickly as possible before the glint in Lenalee's eyes suggested something dangerous. Definitely dangerous.

o0o0o0o

"Mou, Kanda... It's not as bad as you're making it out to be!" Allen tried at an obviously feeble attempt to cheer up the swordsman, who was fuming silently. "At least we get to keep our Innocence! And it's not like you _have_ to socialize. I mean, at least we get our own beds, not like that mission in Purum..." Allen cut off as a sword blade pressed itself against his throat.

Lavi glanced curiously between the two. There was a rosy blush on Allen's cheeks, and he could have sworn that there was a slightly pinkish tint to Kanda's ears and neck. A gleeful smirk slipped onto his face. Oh, the information he got from that was going to be pure gold.  
>Allen gathered his wits first, backing away from sword point "Never mind that! Let's try to find Platform 9 ¾. It's apparently not labeled on the signs..." Above their heads were signs indicating "Platform 9" and "Platform 10," but there was no "Platform 9 ¾."<p>

They turned their heads when they heard the extremely loud outburst of "Gerrof me, Mum! I told you! I don't care if there's something on my nose! We have to go or else we'll miss the train!"

"Right then," a man's clear voice cut through the hubbub of King's Cross Station. "We'll go in pairs. I'll go first with Harry." Allen, Kanda, and Lavi spun around just in time to catch a glimpse of a tall red-headed man walking briskly toward a large pole, accompanied by a scrawny raven-haired boy with large glasses and a large cart piled high with luggage and...a cage with an owl...? Right as they were about to crash, they seemed to melt into the pole, as though they had been swallowed right into it.

"Well," Lavi deadpanned, "At least now we know how to get there." Kanda swatted at him as he passed. The three approached the family cautiously.

Assuming that they were wizards, Allen ventured politely, using all of the British charm he could muster, "Um, is this how you get to Platform 9 ¾? My friends-" Kanda glared at Allen. "accomplices," he corrected hastily, shooting Kanda a glare of his own. "are now to Hogwarts, and-"  
>He was cut off in his explanation when the woman exclaimed, "Goodness! Absolutely perfect manners, just like when Harry first asked us! Don't you worry yourself. Just take a running start towards that pole over there," She pointed towards the one that the man and boy had disappeared into only moments ago. "and don't stop or else you might crash. It doesn't hurt at all. Watch Fred and George." Two identical red-headed boys shot them mischievous grins before sprinting, not even pausing, before disappearing into the pole. "You can go next, if you would like."<p>

Allen smiled sweetly. "That would be very nice, thank you very much."

Lavi nudged them both, trying hopelessly to suppress a growing smile. "Look natural, you two. We run into poles every day!" Kanda gave an unamused quirk of his eyebrows, but said nothing.

When they hit the supposedly solid material, it felt oddly like slipping through a pudding-like substance. They exited to the sight of a large scarlet train. Lavi whistled lowly. "Impressive. I wonder how they fit that in here."

"Gee, I don't know, Lavi," Allen scoffed, "_magic_?" He hefted one of his trunks up with a single hand easily. "Let's go find somewhere to sit on that thing, preferably with other people. I honestly don't want to be stuck with the both of you for the entire ride."

Lavi pouted in indignation. "That's meeaaannn, Allen-chan!"

It seemed that Kanda had started pretending that he didn't know the two madmen he was standing next to, opting instead for staring into the crowd. A red-headed boy around their current age approached them alongside a brunette with long bushy hair.

He grinned at them. "You're new, right? I saw you guys talking to my mum. I'm Ron Weasley and this is Hermione Granger. Do you want to sit with us on the train? We're meeting up with our friend Harry, Harry Potter. You've heard of him, right? He's famous in the wizarding world, and-" The brunette, Hermione, gently whacked him on the head with a book.

Hermione flashed them an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. He tends to get off on a tangent if you leave him alone."

"I'm Allen, Allen Walker."

"And I'm Lavi Bookman!"

"Tch." Hermione and Ron looked slightly put off by his response.

Lavi laughed brightly, slinging an arm over Kanda's shoulders. "Don't worry about this bitter guy. He's like that to everyone, even us, his _only_ friends!" He mimed getting shot in the heart when Kanda shrugged off his arm. "Anyway, he's Kanda Yuu, or Yuu Kanda as you would say in the Westernized way. Feel free to call him Yuu anytime you want!"

Simultaneously, Kanda unsheated Mugen and slashed it towards Lavi while Allen tried to smash the trunk in his hand down on his head. Lavi evaded the attacks, smirking at Allen's beet-red face as he ducked around passers-by. "Don't _ever_ call me that, you damn rabbit!"

"Most words you've said today, Yuu! It's a new record!" Allen laughed.

Hermione nervously tittered with apprehensive laughter. "Is it okay for him to have a sword? Isn't that well, dangerous?"

Allen turned and grinned. "Don't worry. He knows how to use it and he'll only unsheath it when necessary. It's practically part of him. He never lets it leave his side, and we never try to take it away from him." He hefted the heavy trunk back over his shoulder. "Come on then, let's go find this Herbert character!"

Ron winced. "It's Harry. Don't tell me you've never heard of him?"

"RON! Get over here!"

The ginger winced. "Coming, Mum!" He grimaced at the three. "Follow me. You might even get one of my mum's special sandwiches if you're lucky. You guys can have it if it's corned beef."

Allen beamed at the prospect of food. As though his stomach had read his mind, it grumbled loudly. Kanda let out a heavy sigh. "Komui gave us money. You can buy something on the train."

Lavi tried shushing Kanda, but the damage was done. "Don't! You know if we let him get to the money, we'll be out of money before we even get there! We have permission slips to Hogsmeade. We can buy more food there. Besides," he glanced conspiratorially at the white-haired teen. "you've seen how he eats..."

Rolling his eyes, Ron gestured for them all to follow. "Come _on_."

They approached the Weasleys as a small herd. The family introduced themselves as Arthur (father), Molly (mother, but "just call me Molly"), Percy, Gred and Forge (Fred and George, Molly had corrected in fond exasperation), Ron, and then Ginny, the youngest and only girl. There was the black-haired boy that had gone first with Arthur, who introduced himself as Harry. It was the Harry that Ron and Hermione had mentioned.

Molly fussed over all of them like a mother hen, even Harry and Hermione. She kissed all of her children on the cheeks, hugging Harry and Hermione. "I've made you all sandwiches. Here you go, Ron, and no, they're not corned beef. Fred? Where's Fred? Oh, there you are, there."

"Fred" rolled his eyes. "Mum, can't you get it right for once? I'm George."

"And I'm Fred," the other twin quipped. "And thanks."

Ron cast Allen an apologetic glance. "Sorry, no sandwich for you if it's not corned beef."

Allen shrugged noncommittally adjusting the trunk over his shoulder. "It's alright. I'll just get some money from Lavi." He noticed Kanda focusing his gaze on a pillar. "What's wrong?"

"I just saw Harry follow Arthur behind a pillar, likely to discuss something."

Ron gazed in awe at Kanda. "I think that's the longest sentence I've heard you say so far!"

"Tch."

"Come on, the train's about to leave! Hurry on now!" Molly ushered the children, Ron and Hermione scrambling onto the train, followed closely by the three exorcists.

When they reached a cabin, Allen asked, "Could we sit with you? We don't really know anybody else." He smiled sheepishly.

Hermione grinned. "Sure! That'd be fine."

"Arthur, quickly!" Mrs. Weasley's voice broke the clamor of the train, alerting them that Harry still hadn't boarded.

Within seconds, Harry slid into the compartment, and odd expression on his face. He only waved it off when Ron pointed it out.

The ride to Hogwarts was overall uneventful. A boy named Draco Malfoy came in once just to taunt Harry and his friends. He left soon once Hermione reminded him that there was a teacher in there. Before that moment, they really hadn't paid the sleeping figure any notice. His name was on his suitcase - Remus Lupin. The teacher had been sleeping ever since they had left and neither of them had the heart to wake him when the food cart passed by. Lavi had to stop Allen from buying the entire cart of sweets and snacks.

Suddenly, the lights blacked out and the trains screeched to a halt. Shouts of annoyance and fear filled the air. A scratchy whisper of "Lumos" lit up their compartment. The unconscious figure had woken and had been the one to cast the spell.

"Stay where you are."

Something cloaked in black entered the room, and a permeating snese of fearful dread filled the group. Remus Lupin was saying something to it, but half of the cabin's occupants didn't hear them. Harry had fallen off of his seat and started convulsing violently on the floor, uttering muffled screams. Allen had contracted himself into a ball, holding onto his left hand with a death grip while crying "MANA!" over and over. Kanda stared blankly and dug his nails into his palms, murmuring unintelligent phrases as his face paled.

Unseen to the three, something silver shot out of the end of the teacher's wand and the figure left, leaving behind a choking feeling of despair in its wake. The lights flickered back on. Suddenly, everything was visible, the room's occupants shocked by the sight of Allen and Harry. Their faces were contorted in pain and agony.

Kanda had recovered faster than the other two, and started rubbing reassuring circles on Allen's back, holding him in an awkward one-armed hug. "It's over," he murmured, voice uncharacteristically soft. "You killed him, saved him from something much worse. Remember that you have allies now, including Lenalee, Komui, the stupid rabbit, and well, possibly me."

Allen glared at Kanda, sniffling away the last of his tears. "You're not helping, BaKanda."

The corners of the swordsman's lips twitched fractionally. "At least it got you to stop sobbing." There was a hint of amusement and exasperation in his voice.

_Click_

Lavi peeked out from behind his camera. "Lovely, Yuu-kun! Absolutely perfect! Now I just need to send this to Komui! Allen's such a good influence on you, and by influence, I mean-"

He didn't get the chance to finish before Kanda had Mugen pressed up against his throat. Lavi just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Tch." Kanda sheathed his sword and accepted a piece of chocolate from Lupin. He threw it into his mouth, wincing at the sheer amount of sugar that went into such a small piece of candy. Allen got his own, content smile spreading across his face as the chocolate melted in his mouth.

After sometime, Harry regained consciousness and accepted a piece of chocolate warily from the professor. "What was that thing?"

"A dementor," The man replied curtly as he continued to hand out chocolate. "One of the dementors of Azkaban. Eat your chocolate. It'll help. I need to speak to the driver. We should be nearing the school soon. Rest up." He left the space, leaving the group of students still slightly in shock from what had happened. Harry nibbled at his chocolate. Everybody shuddered at the remaining chill that the dementors had left.  
>When they finally got off of the train, Ron called out to the other three, "Over here! You can follow us. You're going to be third years, right, so you'll need to meet up with the first years when you get to Hogwarts to be sorted."<p>

Allen cut him off. "Actually, we've just been told to join the Gryffindor House."

Ron's face brightened. "That's brilliant then! Harry, Hermione, and I are all Gryffindors too! We can show you around then. Here, follow us if you don't need to be sorted."

"First years traditionally go with Hagrid," Hermione waved at the large figure ushering the younger children onto boats. "Since you're third years and apparently already sorted, you can come onto the carriages with us!"

There were rows upon rows of large carriages, pulled by skeletal winged horse-like creatures. Allen stared up at them in amazement. "What are these animals?" Ron and Harry eyed him strangely. "The ones pulling the carriages?"

"What do you mean, mate?"

Kanda narrowed his eyes. "There are large winged horses pulling the carriages. You can't see them?"

"Oh!" Hermione clapped her hands together gleefully. "I've read about this in _Hogwarts: A History_! They're creatures called thestrals, and can only be seen by those who have witnessed and accepted death! They're said to be extremely hard to tame and that the herd at Hogwarts is quite possibly the only tame herd of thestrals in Great Britain!"

_Seen DEATH._

Lavi's expression melted into one of uneasy amusement, forcing a cheer into his voice. "Well then, of course the three of us can see them, huh? We've certainly seen more death than we can stomach."

The Golden Trio observed the newcomers warily. If they had supposedly so much death at the age of thirteen, exactly where did they come from?

"Anyway," Harry interjected into the awkward silence. A fake cheer was in his voice. "Let's get on. I'll take one with Ron and Hermione while you three share one. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," Allen grinned, "that's fine!"

o0o0o0o

On the way to Hogwarts, the three discussed what Komui had told them about how Hogwarts operated.

_Kanda frowned, not for the first time that day. "What do you mean, houses?"_

_"At Hogwarts, they sort the students into one of four Houses: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Usually the new students would be sorted into one by magical means, but since you three aren't wizards and we want you to stay together for the sake of convenience, you're going to be placed into an extra room in Gryffindor. Gryffindors are known for their courage and bravery and they're put into that house for a reason." Komui cast a reprimanding look over the exorcists. "Don't worry yourselves that much. Just try to blend in or make some friends, but keep in mind that you're only there temporarily. Follow the rules and don't cause too much of a fuss, alright? We'll alert you via owl post when we've found an antidote. We can send it to you and then we'll have Finders bring your exorcist coats and pick you up."_

_"Pick us up?" Allen scowled, clearly not pleased with the arrangement. "You make it sound as though we're misbehaving children!"_

_Lavi grinned. "Technically, we are right now." That earned him a whack on the head from Allen._

"Why couldn't we have just stayed at the Black Order? I don't see any reason in carting us away to some random magical school in the middle of nowhere." Kanda scowled, leaning back into the plush seats of the carriage.

Unknown to the exorcists, Ron had attacked an Extendable Ear to Allen's suitcase and had Hermione place an Invisibility Charm on it. Currently, the three were eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Don't worry, Kanda!" Allen tried to reassure the swordsman, but to no avail. "The Science Department is pretty dependable when it counts. Besides, Reever probably threatened to have Lenalee married off or have his Komurins destroyed. There's no doubt that those would have gotten him on the antidote immediately."

Lavi quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, but Komui isn't exactly one for those chemicals, you know? And how exactly are they going to know that it works if none of us are there to test it...?"

A tense silence filled the carriage.

"I-I'm sure everybody else will help!" Allen interjected nervously.

"Tch." Kanda stared out the window. "If it doesn't, I'm going to kill those bastards when we get back."

"_If_ we get back," Lavi joked, earning himself piercing glares from the carriage's other two occupants. "which I'm sure we will!" he corrected.

Allen rolled his eyes, throwing his head back to rest against the wall. "If we're not going to do any magic, let's just keep an eye out and do some training. It'll be hard to get used to fighting in these stupid shrunken bodies, but I think we should be able to manage somehow. Komui did say that they had a large forest there. We could sneak out and fight some, just to alleviate some stress. Besides, we never know if the Earl or a Noah could show up with more Akuma. Who knows what they're up to?"

"Mou, Allen-kun! You're too depressing! Let's enjoy ourselves while we can! It's not every day that we get to attend a school of magic! It's going to be perfect for me as a Bookman! The Order will alert us if there's any Akuma activity!"

"Mm, but it's going to be hell for Kanda, ne?"Allen smirked. "Needing to socialize with children, the stoic swordsman's greated mission to date."  
>Through the Extendable Ears suddenly came the sound of shouting and thuds, the trio quickly tugging off the devices before the crashing grew too loud for them to bear. They huddled together, speaking in whispers, as though someone were listening in on them (which was quite ironic, really).<p>

"Who do you think these people are? They certainly don't seem normal." Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "I mean, who are Komwee or the Earl? What in world are Noahs or Akooma? And exactly what is a Komoorin? How are their bodies shrunken?"

Hermione shrugged, cautiously holding the Extendable Ear by her ear. "Put them back on!" she hissed. "They started talking again!"

"Whatever," they heard Kanda mutter. "I just want to get my fucking body back. Being stuck like this is inconvenient."

Lavi hummed his agreement. "I agree with you there, Yuu-" There was a sudden _shhhink_ of metal, probably Kanda drawing his sword. "Put Mugen back! There's no space for that here!" The sound ceased for a second, replaced with Lavi's heavy sigh. "Thanks. I hate being like this too, if it's any comfort. At least for Allen, there's not much change in height!"

"EXCUSE ME? I am seven inches shorter, in case you haven't noticed! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get that tall? I've basically lost three years of all the effort I had put into getting this tall!"

"Huh," Kanda commented dryly. "If the moyashi doesn't get his food, he goes Black."

"Shut it, Kanda," Allen snarled. "I need cards. Now."

Laughing nervously, Lavi replied, "No thanks, Allen-kun. We're good with all of our clothes on our body. We don't feel like losing all of them to the King of Poker anytime soon."

"You guys are no _fun_!"

Apparently Lavi had decided to try to divert the conversation away from card games with a far too excitable "Hey look! There's Hogwarts!"

"Tch."

"Really, BaKanda? You're being all anti-social again?"

"When has he been anything but?"

"Shut up. Both of you."

The new students were right. Hogwarts was slowly becoming visible in the darkness, towers looming in the night, moon illuminating the shadows of the castle. It was a majestic sight, and it still awed them whenever they approached.

Since the conversation had ceased, Harry, Ron, and Hermione removed the Extendable Ears. Hermione whipped out a spare piece of parchment and a quill, jotting down at the top of the page, "Things We Know." She glanced up at the two boys with an expectant look.

"Well," Harry began, "They're worried about some Earl and something called a Noah, as well as those Akooma."

"Allen is apparently really good at poker...?" Ron added.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but jotted it down anyway, writing as she talked. "We've heard them mention that they've been shrunken, or they're not in their original bodies. "They're associated with a Black Order of some sort, and that they're affiliated with a Komui, possibly their superior."

"What do you think that was all about?" Harry whispered.

"I don't know." Hermione looked frustrated. She didn't like not knowing things. "None of it made any sense."

Sighing, they nodded in mutual agreement to continue their pondering later, when they were able to get some privacy. They stared out the window of the carriage and watched as the castle grew large and large as they approached.

Once they reached Hogwarts, the other three met up with them, following Ron into the Great Hall after Harry and Hermione were pulled away for a moment by Professor McGonagall. They sat across from him at the Gryffindor table.

"When do we eat?" Allen blurted out, reddening as he realized how ridiculous he sounded.

Ron laughed good-naturedly. "Wow, you must be really hungry! Don't worry, we get to eat after the first years are all sorted and Dumbledore, the headmaster, makes his speech."

The Sorting flew by quickly, the students silently filing by and having their house announced loudly by the talking hat. It even sang, which elicited sparks of interest from Allen and Lavi while Kanda remained impassive. When the Sorting finished, Harry and Hermione slid into their seats at the Gryffindor table.

"What was that?" Ron queried.

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Dumbledore beginning his speech. The exorcists peered over the throng of students to catch a glimpse of the headmaster. "Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore continued, "As you will be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises-or even Invisibility Cloaks." Here, Dumbledore paused, and seemed to be staring at Harry right when he said that." Allen and Lavi looked over curiously at that, but were waved off by Harry's 'tell-you-later-long-story' face.

"It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors." The exorcists shared a glance, affirming that they definitely needed to ask their new acquaintances about some things later.

The hall went grimly silent, and Dumbledore peered down at the students over his half-moon spectacles. Grinning, he added, "On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome three new teachers to our ranks this year along as some transfers. Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

The exorcists strained their necks, watching as the large man that they had seen as they exited the Hogwarts Express stood and accepted the applause that seemed to be coming mainly from the Gryffindor table. They tried to sound enthusiastic as they joined in the applause weakly. "As to our second and third teachers, first please welcome Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "

Among the half-hearted applause, they could hear Ron hiss to Harry, "Look at Snape!" Since they didn't know who Snape was, the three dismissed the outburst, bringing their attention back as Dumbledore announced the third teacher.

"And joining Professor Lupin is-" Right as Dumbledore said the next teacher's name, Allen shot out of his seat, much to the surprise of many students.

_Yo, bouya_. His voice resounded in Allen's mind, bringing him back to the bamboo grove in China with the Fallen Suman Dark and the damned butterflies. "_Tyki Mikk_..." Allen whispered, so soft that only Kanda and Lavi heard. Their eyes widened and they stood as well, staring in shock at the Noah seated calmly at the Head Table. _Well, shit._

"Professor Tyki Mikk." Dumbledore concluded, resulting in the swooning of many girls at the sight of the handsome Portuguese teacher with the odd - but charming - forehead markings and the piercing yellow eyes.

The newest teacher merely smirked in amusement at the three students who had risen in their seats.

o0o0o0o

**EDIT**: So sorry if you've been waiting for a new chapter! I went back and reread the stories I had written and some of them really really needed to be cleaned up, so I'm trying to edit all of them! Please be patient with me! QAQ I'm going to try to get to the next chapter as soon as I can, but I can't make any promises! I'm working on another story and trying to focus on Leaving and Staying for the most part!

A/N: Told you to pay attention to the last part of Dumbledore's speech. If you missed it because you thought you could just skip it, go back and reread it! Anyway, told you I like plot twists. The chapter always has to end with suspense. That's how it is with me. Anyway, hope you liked it! This is the longest chapter I've written so far! Please don't let my ignorance of 8th grade homework to write this be for nothing! Review. Please? 0.0


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